Rental Application Approval Rates Are Up for Millennials and Gen-Xers

With almost 37 percent of people in the U.S. renting their homes (the highest rate since the 1960s), you'll be happy to hear that approvals of rental applications are up for 2017. Millennials and Gen-Xers have the biggest reason to celebrate, according to a study by RentCafe.

Over 60 percent of rental applicants in 2017 are millennials. In 2016, 82.3 percent of their rental applications were approved, whereas 82.8 percent's were approved in 2017. Meanwhile, Gen-Xers have seen their approval ratings jump from 75.8 percent in 2016 to 77.5 percent in 2016. Seeing as this generation has had the toughest time getting rental application approvals — thanks to living through the worst of the housing crisis and poor credit histories that reflect that — this bump is big news.

And if you're thinking that those increases aren't very big, think again. To give a wider view of all renters, Rent Cafe noted that for every million applications submitted between 2014 and 2017 by individuals of all the generations combined, 15,000 more applications are given a green light.

So why are approvals on the rise? RentCafe lists three important reasons: the quality of tenants has increased, credit scores have improved, and there are more recently-built apartments today that need to be filled up.

Before you set out to find your own new home, keep in mind that the best months to get approved are May and June, and February is the worst. Seattle, Washington, Portland, Oregon, and San Diego, California are the top three cities where you have the best chance to get approved.

And the worst? Scottsdale, Arizona, Detroit, Michigan, and Arlington, Texas are tough cookies to crack.